The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books kicks off its 14th storied year April 25th  26th at UCLA

LOS ANGELES, April 1, 2009 -- One of Southern California's coolest cultural weekend events, the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, is set to take place on Saturday, April 25th and Sunday, April 26th. This free-to-the-public celebration of everything reading inspires will bring together an eclectic mix of story-tellers, popular musicians, celebrities, chef demonstrations and book-lovers of all ages on UCLA's Westwood campus.

In its 14th year the Festival promises to deliver an expanded line-up of programming for the over 140,000 expected attendees. Highlighting everything from hot-topics in social media to an exploration of L.A.'s rich Hispanic heritage, the weekend will also feature over 100 speaker panels and six outdoor stages presenting Gustavo Arellano, David Baldacci, Bob Barker, T.C. Boyle, Mary Higgins Clark, Giada DeLaurentiis, Steve Lopez, Alonzo Mourning, Brooke Shields, Tori Spelling, Henry Winkler and many more. (For a full list of attractions, visit: latimesfestivalofbooks.com).

"The Los Angeles Times is proud to host the Festival of Books in celebration of great literature, great writers and great readers," said Times Publisher Eddy Hartenstein. "Add in music, food and fun for the kids and you can see why this extraordinary weekend will once again bring the city together."

The Hoy Cultural NeighborhoodDebuting this year is The Hoy Cultural Neighborhood which will feature LAUSD's "Cielo Nuevo" mariachi band, a Hispanic Icon Contest for kids and lively discussions about bilingual literacy.

The Comix StripThe Comix Strip returns for a second year to give fans of comic books, graphic novels and manga access to exhibitors and retailers, alongside special appearances by industry legends Mark Waid and Kevin J. Anderson.

Target Children's StageFor children, families and the young at heart, the Target Children's Stage will feature an array of fun distractions, book readings by Brooke Shields; Henry Winkler; Alonzo Mourning; Eric Carle (author and illustrator of The Very Hungry Caterpillar); Yeardley Smith (voice of Lisa Simpson); and performances from Yo Gabba Gabba!, Playhouse Disney's "Choo-Choo Soul" and many more.

The Festival weekend will commence with the prestigious 29th annual Los Angeles Times Book Prizes (latimes.com/bookprizes) awards ceremony on Friday, April 24th. The Book Prizes were established in 1980 by the late Art Seidenbaum, a Times Book Editor from 1978 to 1985, and will be hosted by Times Book Editor David Ulin (latimes.com/books).

General event information can be found at latimesfestivalofbooks.com or by calling 1-800-LA TIMES, ext. 7BOOK. Admission is free, but tickets are required to attend author/panel discussions and lectures. Because seating at these events is limited, tickets will be made available for a $.75 per ticket fee at Ticketmaster.com and through select Ticketmaster locations in Southern California beginning at Noon, April 19th until capacity has been reached.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Advance registration is required for working media planning to cover the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. The registration deadline is April 21. The registration form and directions are posted online at latimes.com/festivalofbooks/mediacenter.htmlMedia Credentials will be available for pick up ONLY at the Los Angeles Times Spring Street Lobby on April 23rd and 24th. Credentials will NOT be issued on site and must be picked up in advance. Special arrangements can be made for visiting media.For information please contact: FOBmedia@therosegrp.com

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About the Festival of Books

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is presented in association with UCLA, presenting sponsor, Target, major sponsors Amtrak, Ticketmaster and Volvo and media sponsors KTLA-TV, Hoy, and KCRW-FM.

About the Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times (latimes.com) is the largest metropolitan daily newspaper in the country, with a daily readership of 2 million and 3 million on Sunday, and a combined print and interactive local weekly audience of 5.5 million. The fast-growing latimes.com draws over 10 million unique visitors monthly.

The Los Angeles Times and its media businesses and affiliates  including The Envelope, Times Community Newspapers, Hoy, and Community News  reach approximately 5.3 million or 40% of all adults in the Southern California marketplace. The Pulitzer Prize-winning Los Angeles Times has been covering Southern California for more than 127 years and is part of Tribune Company, one of the country's leading media companies with businesses in publishing, the Internet and broadcasting. Additional information is available at latimes.com/mediacenter.